Darryl Strawberry former New York Mets speaks to the media before a ceremony to retire his jersey number before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on June 1, 2024 in New York City.
Adam Hunger | Getty Images
President Donald Trump pardoned Major League Baseball legend Darryl Strawberry, who had pleaded guilty to tax evasion three decades earlier, the White House said Friday.
Strawberry, now 63, “served time and paid back taxes” after his conviction, a White House official said in a statement to CNBC confirming the pardon.
An eight-time MLB All-Star who helped take the New York Mets and the New York Yankees to World Series championships, Strawberry in 1995 pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion for failing to report tens of thousands of dollars of income on his federal returns, news outlets reported at the time.
Strawberry, who dealt with substance abuse issues for years, was suspended from the MLB in 2000 after failing a drug test, effectively ending his career.
“Following his career, Mr. Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade – he has become active in ministry and started a recovery center which still operates today,” the White House official said in the statement.
Strawberry is the latest high-profile figure to receive clemency from Trump.
Last month, the president commuted the prison sentence of disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos, who had pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Days later, Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, who had served four months in jail after pleading guilty to failing to address money laundering on the platform.
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